PNM brake kit.

[rcfurse]

Has anyone tried the PNM Elan brake upgrade (6 pot calipers and vented discs)?

[tvacc]

I have on order. Waiting for it to get here.

[Ross Robbins]

Why would you need to upgrade the Elan brakes?

I raced an S2 Elan with completely stock brakes for 15 years and NEVER ONCE did I run out of braking performance even when other cars in my class such as Porsche's, MG's and Corvette's did. The toughest track for brakes was our local track Second Creek Raceway near Denver as it was 1.3 miles with ten turns and two heavy braking zones per lap. There was never any time to let the brakes cool and lots of race cars had trouble there. Not me...I could still lock the brakes at the end of thirty hard laps. I cannot imagine any harder test of brakes and certainly not on public roads that would require upgrading the stock system!

[rcfurse]

There is always an opportunity to get a little "more" out of our cars. Most people are running motors that are substantially over "stock". I just figured if we can go 6 pot then why not.

[tvacc]

I have an Elan GTS, 26r clone. I had some spare cash and my friend ordered an M100 exhaust system. My shipping would be free to minimal
So I said "why not?"

[661]

I swapped the front calipers for plus 2 calipers and discs. I'm not sure it was needed. I suspect putting decent brake fluid in and altering the pads has made most of the difference I now enjoy.

[Maulden7]

I swapped the front calipers for plus 2 calipers and discs. I'm not sure it was needed. I suspect putting decent brake fluid in and altering the pads has made most of the difference I now enjoy.

I did the same a few years back on my S2 (with high spec racing brake fluid & pads) & compared to the standard calipers / discs (also with high spec racing brake fluid & pads) on track I didn't see / feel any real difference or improvement in times (this is on a car fully modified - engine / suspension / drive train etc - & set up for track use but is used on road as well)

Tbh, without bodywork mods the S2 is really limited by road legal tyre compound / size availability.

It could of course have been that my balls were still the same size before & after the modifications!

PS - re the PNM kit ... I've seen this & did wonder ... if anyone goes this way I would be interested to hear about the results.

[Certified Lotus]

Interested in hearing how this works out. In my track Lotus? swapping out only the front brakes to a larger brake kit completely changed the bias. I have found you either need to install an inline adjustable balancer or also swap out the rear brakes with a similar big brake kit. It?s a slippery slope.

[tvacc]

After I put it in, if it changes the bias, I will look for a rear set that are larger. I don't know of any yet. Does anyone know of a kit for the back?

[rgh0]

Why would you need to upgrade the Elan brakes?

I raced an S2 Elan with completely stock brakes for 15 years and NEVER ONCE did I run out of braking performance even when other cars in my class such as Porsche's, MG's and Corvette's did. The toughest track for brakes was our local track Second Creek Raceway near Denver as it was 1.3 miles with ten turns and two heavy braking zones per lap. There was never any time to let the brakes cool and lots of race cars had trouble there. Not me...I could still lock the brakes at the end of thirty hard laps. I cannot imagine any harder test of brakes and certainly not on public roads that would require upgrading the stock system!

I agree for road use the standard brakes with modern pads and good quality fluid are more than adequate in any circumstances with any power and any tyres. For track use with modern sticky track day tyres or slicks the right race pads front and rear to get the right balance is again more than adequate even on the most brake torturous tracks I have raced on.

Maybe if your into extreme top level historic endurance racing you may find front pad life or brake temperatures a problem but how many people are doing that in Elans these days ??? Even then lots of ways to fix before replacing the brakes

cheers
Rohan

[Davidb]

The only change I can see making is to fit lighter calipers-front and rear. I agree the brakes are fine as they are. I fitted a 0.7 inch tandem master cylinder and braided hoses. No booster. I cannot imagine any improvement in pedal feel/effort-it is that good now.

[ecamiel]

I race a SCCA spec wide tire S1 and had no brake issues except at one track where I regularly cooked the brakes even after I went to GT 6 (+2) calipers and disks and used fresh race fluid every race (important) with a variety of race pads.
Some ducting helped.
The Bias is adjustable for the track but before I installed the rear brake limiting valve I found the bias just about perfect for the street using modern rubber.
The serious fast guys all have vented and drilled disks and say they need them.

Interestingly, the BMW engineers say the highest brake temps they regularly record on street cars are on long down hill mountain passes, even higher than when they test at speed on the Nurburgring.

[Frogelan]

Based on experience of racing MGB's, standard brake calipers / rear drums are perfectly adequate, as long as race pads/linings are used (the FIA minimum weight for a MGB is 830 kg...30% more than an Elan, but with comparable top speed when prepared properly).

As Ecamiel correctly puts it, more intensive use of brake occurs on alpine passes than on high speed tracks (such as the Nordschleife or Franchorchamps).